Dieter's Brain

Dieters think frequently about food—and that may compromise their ability to contemplate much else. Researchers at Flinders University in Australia studied 64 women, half of whom said they were dieting. In cognitive tests, the dieters had more difficulty performing simultaneous tasks and recalling objects, locations, and moderately complex sequences of words or numbers. Based on surveys the women completed and other studies, the researchers believe that the mental deficiency "is at least partly a function of the preoccupying thoughts about food, weight, and body shape that almost invariably accompany dieting."